The Augustine Queen
by Vampire Queen of NOLA
Summary: When Caroline somehow becomes an Augustine vampire, she tries to alienate herself and fix things on her own; fortunately for her, nobody wants to give up so easily, and they enlist the help of someone she would have never expected. Now, he and Stefan are fighting to 'cure' her- but what if there is no cure? What if she's an Augustine forever?
1. Chapter 1

The Salvatore home was a bustling center of activity, and Damon was annoyed beyond belief at this fact. Stefan, Elena, Matt, Jeremy, Bonnie, Nadia, even Katherine, with Sheriff Forbes in the middle of it all, probably going though yet another moment of panic as he strolled down the stairs, eying them cautiously.

"I can stop her," Stefan was saying, standing in front of the lit fireplace and staring into the flames. Elena was already shaking her head, sitting on the couch holding hands with both Bonnie and Liz.

"No. You can't. Jesse was an Augustine, brand new, and if I hadn't staked him, he would have killed Damon."

"Oh, don't drag me into this conversation." Damon was pouring himself a drink, sighing. "Seriously, it isn't that hard. You kill her."

This ignited a chorus of outcry from everyone gathered, save for Nadia and Katherine- Katherine seemed too tired to say anything, while Nadia simply wasn't focused on anything more than her mother. Damon shrugged. "You mention my name, I give my opinion. Look, Barbie's already stronger than she should be for her age. Add that in with her being an Augustine who craves vamp blood above all else, and whatever the fuck that strange injection did to her, we can't just subdue her."

"We can't kill her, Damon!"

"You said... you said Augustine vampires are stronger than most vampires by far. Right?" Contrary to what Damon had thought, Liz wasn't panicking- she had her phone in her free hand, staring at it with a strange look on her face. Elena nodded, and the sheriff pressed her lips together, seeming to consider something for a long moment. "What about hybrids?" Bonnie sighed, shaking her head.

"We don't know. And we don't know where Tyler is, anyways."

"I wasn't talking about Tyler."

A long, tense silence fell, everyone in the room staring at Liz as though she'd lost her damn mind. They _knew_, of course they knew, what she was getting at. Who she was referencing. There was only one other living hybrid, and they didn't want to consider contacting _him._

"Do it." The rasping voice came from the last person anyone expected to agree to such an idea- Katherine had lifted her head, staring at Liz with a strange look on her face. "Best case scenario, he fails and she kills him. Second-best case, he manages to subdue her long enough to figure out how to stop this."

"Liz, no-"

"Think about this, he's not a good guy-"

"He killed Carol! You can't possibly think that he'd help!"

"He saved her life more than once," Liz snapped, yanking her hand from Elena's and rising as she tapped her thumb against her phone's screen. "This is my choice, she's my daughter."

"You've got to be kidding me," Damon grumbled, tossing back his whiskey and reaching to refill the glass. Only Stefan had stayed silent, but when he met the sheriff's eyes, he nodded. It wasn't as though she was waiting for his permission, though; her phone was already to her ear, and after a moment, she sighed.

"Something's happened. There's something wrong with Caroline. We-" She paused mid-sentence, ignoring the stares she was receiving. After a long moment, she nodded. "Yes, I'm serious. I wouldn't call you if I wasn't. She needs your help. Please, this isn't any sort of trick, she's just- there was this research going on, and somehow, she ended up injected with some sort of virus or- I don't know what it is. But she's stronger, so strong that we can't subdue her, and she's feeding on other vampires. It was-" Another cutoff, another long moment. "Augustine, it was called. ...okay. We're holed up in the Salvatore house, if anyone leaves, she'll- she isn't herself. The only other option is one I refuse to listen to." She nodded once more, looking relieved, and hung up, turning to face the others. "He's coming."

* * *

He didn't knock- did they expect him to? Pity. Niklaus Mikaelson was in one hell of a mood, and it showed in how he slammed the Salvatores' door open and stalked into the living room. Everyone was still gathered downstairs, save for Nadia and Katherine- they'd gone upstairs, because they all knew Klaus was no fan of Katherine's. Damon had joined Stefan by the fire, and he muttered something under his breath about knocking, but otherwise, everyone was silently watching Klaus.

"Did you fools not think to contact me when my bastard of a father was quite possibly the inspiration for this project?" He was eying them all with distaste, frowning. "Did you not stop and wonder at the fact that these Augustine vampires are _exactly_ what my father was? You're all idiots. Where is she?" Elena exchanged a look with Bonnie before looking back to the hybrid.

"We... don't know. The last we saw her, she was near the school, but that was at least twelve hours ago," she offered, causing him to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Bloody idiots. I will find her and I will fix this. Some damned friends you are. Why she cares..." He shook his head, turning to leave, but paused, turning back slowly and staring at Stefan. "Rippah. You're coming with me."

"Wait, what? He can't. He'll die!" Klaus shifted his gaze to the Gilbert girl, a slow simper curling his lips.

"You are already on very, very thin ice with me, Elena. I would suggest you leave this in my hands."

"Knew we shouldn't have called him," Damon muttered, but Klaus chose to ignore him in favor of watching Stefan, who was pushing away from the fireplace to join him. "Uh, Stefan? You got a death wish I don't know about?"

"I'll be fine." Stefan gestured to the door, indicating Klaus go first. "I should have destroyed the syringe. This is partly my fault." Klaus reached to pat his shoulder before turning to address everyone else in the room as he began to back out of it.

"And let me be _quite_ clear. I am here for Caroline. Since you neglected to ask me about this project, you can handle the rest on your own." He smirked. "You'd best hope no more Augustines show themselves. You might find yourself quite screwed."

* * *

The forest was the only place she could think of to go that might be safe. For three days now, she'd been unable to help herself when her friends were around her, lashing out in hunger and wanting to tear their throats open. She couldn't quite remember exactly what had happened, her memory skewed in some strange fashion, but what she did know was that something had changed, and she couldn't stand the idea of human blood when there were so many vampires in Mystic Falls. At first, they'd tried to come to her, help her, but she'd run from them- Caroline couldn't stand the idea of hurting any of them, and when she'd shoved Stefan away, she knew they'd realized something was horribly wrong.

The look on his face had nearly broken her heart.

God, she'd gone all vamp-face on her _best friend._ Stefan didn't deserve that, but her hunger was to a point that she nearly couldn't control it. It felt as though she were a brand new vampire all over again, but increased tenfold. Caroline knew that it had to be an effect of being... _Augustine_, but she couldn't for the life of her seem to dig from her memory anything that pointed to her current state. Which was slumped against a tree, eyes closed, craving the blood of the people she loved and hating herself. She'd been talking to Aaron, hadn't she? Yeah, because Stefan had said he'd been helpful, even after Damon had threatened his life, and so she'd gone to him to see how he was dealing with the plethora of information he had. She was good with helping people cope. She was the support system.

But she couldn't remember exactly what had happened there. And that, in itself, was strange, because she had a perfect memory. With a sigh, she rubbed a hand over her eyes and silently cursed her stomach for feeling so damn empty. She'd tried hunting a few rabbits, but it had done little to sate her hunger. _Augustines are meant to survive on vampire blood. Everything else just holds them over a bit, but it doesn't last._ Reminding herself of that fact did absolutely nothing to improve the blonde's mood, but understanding was a step towards controlling it. Maybe. Before she could venture further along that train of thought, she heard a snap, a sharp intake of breath, and then...

_Oh my God. Blood. Vampire blood. Oh, God._

"Caroline? Caroline, it's me. Come on, I just want to help you." _Stefan?_ She could feel her gums suddenly aching, the way her fangs were eager to burst forth at that simple scent, and she covered her mouth, refusing to breathe. "Care... I'll just keep making myself bleed until you can't resist it. I can't leave you out here."

"Go away!" she yelled as she dropped her hand, trying to pinpoint the source of the smell for the sheer purpose of escaping the temptation. There was another snap, this one from behind her, but before she could react, someone was pinning her to the tree. Both of her hands were caught in iron-like grasps, pressed back against the rough bark, and an all-too-familiar face leered at her out of the darkness.

"Hello, sweetheart. Don't be angry with me. I only want to help." Caroline opened her mouth, ready to ask the man what the hell he was doing in Mystic Falls, but he released her and snapped her neck quicker than she could form the words. From behind him, there came a sigh.

"Was that necessary, Klaus?" The hybrid didn't seem to pay him any mind, scooping Caroline into his arms before turning back around.

"Now then. I'm not sure how long she'll stay down, so we'll take her to the mansion and work on figuring something out there." He strode past Stefan, and the vampire sighed, hesitating only a few moments before he was following Klaus through the darkness of the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

"Focus. Relax. You're tense."

"I'm _trying_," Caroline hissed, hating the silken tone of Klaus' voice as he hovered behind her, his hands just barely touching her arms. His lips were by her ear, an impressive distraction in themselves, and the truth of the matter was that she was tense because of him. Not because Stefan stood just outside of the doorway, his bloody hand slowly healing as he watched them. It occurred to her that Klaus had chosen her compulsion-imprisonment to be in one of the bedrooms for more than just giving her a place to sleep- but perhaps those thoughts were inspired more by how close he seemed to think he had to be to her. At all times.

"No, love. You see, if you were trying, you would have accomplished it already." God, was it his sole mission in life to frustrate her in every way possible? Her hands curled into slow fists, tightening even further as Stefan brought the palm of his hand to his mouth yet again and sank his fangs in deep to tear it open. The fresh scent rolled over her like a powerful wave, and she instantly froze, refusing to breathe whatsoever, her eyes closing tightly. She could feel her fangs sliding free, knew that the veins had blackened under her eyes, but she was still fighting. How could she not? "You are _strong._ Have faith in yourself. Focus... and... _breathe._"

"Can't." It was a word carried on a faint exhalation. Pressing her lips closed once more, she went back to holding her breath.

"Open your eyes, Caroline. Look." Klaus wound the fingers of one hand through her hair, drawing it back behind her ear gently. "Look at him. Find his eyes, and remember who he is. You have to fight this, just as you fought your urges after you were turned. We can help you, _but you have to let us._"

When Caroline had first awoken in a bedroom of the Mikaelson mansion, she'd been starving. While Stefan was nowhere to be found- and yes, Klaus did let her look, trailing behind her and purposefully blocking any doors out of the mansion- the Original hybrid seemed intent on not letting her out of his sight. He'd given her blood bags, but it had done little to truly sate the gnawing in her stomach. He'd explained to her that her mother had called him, in the hopes that she couldn't overpower him. That he could somehow help her, and as he assured her, he would. As would Stefan. When she asked about her other friends, Klaus had shaken his head- they weren't allowed to see her, nor was she allowed to see them.

She wasn't going to argue that. She did tell him that she didn't want him around her, because despite him being a hybrid, he was still partially vampiric- and his blood was still tempting. Without an open wound, it was easier for her to ignore it so long as she kept distance between them, but the hunger only grew as the days passed. And for a week, there had been nothing new. He was her shadow, providing her with human blood and saying little of his plans- and then, one morning, she'd awoken to him hovering over her, grasping her chin in light but firm fingers.

He'd apologized, and then compelled her to stay in the bedroom until he gave her permission to leave.

Now, she was experiencing his form of trying to 'cure' her- it was more than a little disconcerting, and it brought back memories she refused to reveal to him. This was only day one, but they'd been working for a good three hours now, Stefan regularly making himself bleed as Klaus tried to help her learn to fight the urges. Her stomach rolled from the hunger, and when she finally opened her mouth to take in a shaking breath, her control broke; if not for the compulsion, she would have tackled Stefan and torn into him, desperate to taste the source of the tantalizing scent. Instead, she was drawn up short in the doorway, blackened veins standing up under her eyes as she snarled.

"Care, you can do this. Look at me. _Look at_ _me_." Stefan stepped closer, so that he was only just out of her reach, a strangely tormented look in his eyes. Try as she might to avoid his gaze, she felt a strong arm wrapping around both of hers and a hand lifting her chin, holding her in place so that she was forced to stare into Stefan's eyes. "We're friends, best friends. Do you want to hurt me?" The seconds ticked by agonizingly slow, her mouth opening, but no sound coming out. "Do you want to kill me?"

"No," she finally rasped, forcing herself to continue breathing, oh _God_ that _smell_...

"Good. Breathe, slowly. In and out. Remember when you first turned. You can do this, you can hold yourself together. Focus. You're in control." But she couldn't. She could feel the steady thrumming of Klaus' heart because of how his chest pressed into her back, could imagine that he had similar blood, pulsing _just beneath the surface_- and almost as though he anticipated her next attempt to struggle, his arm tightened around hers. Though Caroline writhed against his grasp, aching to turn and seek the sustenance she so desperately needed from the man who was actually within reach, she couldn't break his hold. "Caroline!" Stefan's voice snapped her attentions back to him, bringing his vampiric features into sharp relief as he slowly forced them to fade away. "You can do this!"

"_I can't be fixed!_" Caroline hadn't meant to say it, but it had slipped free, just as brokenly as when she'd said as much to her father. And she'd told Stefan about the torture she'd undergone, every detail of it, so it struck a strange chord in him. He stepped back, suddenly looking guilty. "Get away. Both of you, _get away_ before I hurt you!"

"You can't kill me, darling, and we both know you cannot reach Stefan," Klaus murmured at her ear. Unbeknownst to Caroline, he'd locked eyes with the other man, a question in his own.

"Klaus, we need to take a break. Give her a blood bag. I need to talk to you." As he spoke, Stefan was tossing a bag into the room; in a deft movement, Klaus grabbed it out of the air, released her, and pressed it into her hands. Before Caroline could react, he was out of the room, following Stefan outside. With the blood bag clutched to her chest as though it were something precious, the blonde stumbled back, settling onto the bed and trying to calm the frantic thoughts spinning through her mind. She prided herself on being the most controlled vampire in Mystic Falls- not _anywhere_, of course, there was still, like, Elijah that could outdo her, but still. Now, someone had screwed with her DNA or whatever and she didn't have that anymore. Panic was filling her chest, making it hard to breathe, her mind telling her over and over again that this time, she couldn't adjust. She wasn't going to be alright. The only way to fix this was for her to die, and that, alone, was a thought that terrified her.

_I don't want to die..._

* * *

The two men had stepped out onto the porch, neither talking for a good span of time. Klaus kept shooting curious looks at Stefan, who stared into the distance, seemingly unwilling to break the silence- but the hybrid was not a patient man, and before too long, he sighed. "What is it? What do I not know?"

"When Caroline first turned, she had nobody." Stefan's voice was quiet, an undertone of guilt causing one of Klaus' eyebrows to arch. "She woke up alone, transitioned alone, and for a few hours, she made it through without killing anybody. She didn't know what she was, but she managed. I've never seen someone with that kind of mental strength."

"Well, yes, I've noticed as much myself. That's why-"

"And then she did." A frustrated look from Klaus. "She, ah, killed somebody, and it tore her apart. Bonnie wouldn't look at her, Damon tried to kill her- she begged him for help, but he just wanted to stake her. I managed to intervene with Elena, pulled her aside, and for the next few days, I worked with her. She got the control she needed faster than I ever thought possible. I was... envious."

"Is there a point to this, Stefan? Because we could be in there now, helping her," the Original grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. It was at Stefan's discrepancy that they were taking a break, and while he felt his former almost-brother was quite possibly the only one he needed to aid him in this venture, his patience was wearing thin. What was this, story time? Why? Why was this so important, when Caroline was suddenly cursed with the very thing his father had relished? This Augustine project, whatever it was, had taken her control from her and put her in danger. Not in the sense that she might hurt herself- he didn't think she would. But Klaus knew that if she killed one of her friends, or even hurt one of them, it would crush her. That was why he had left his kingdom in Marcel's hands, with Elijah to watch over the walking incubator Hayley- of course, even if it had been a simple phone call from her, a request to see him, he would have still done much the same. Left everything behind.

But to watch the pain this caused her- to know how much she must hate herself, to see the way she couldn't sleep soundly, it was torture. He wanted to fix things. He, Niklaus Mikaelson, a monster, was acting the hero for her yet again. Delicacy was not his thing, but it was what the situation needed. Whatever he wanted, he normally got, but since coming to Mystic Falls, she'd proven herself to be the personification of an exception to the rule. For once, what he wanted wasn't for himself, and yet it seemed an impossible feat. Was this how selflessness always worked? Was it always so hard, to care? He brushed a hand over his mouth agitatedly. She'd changed so much for him, brought back a side of him that had been lost since- well, since he was a human. There had been fleeting moments throughout the years when his old self shone through, but now, he was caught in limbo between monster and man, one who destroyed and one who sacrificed. All because of the woman inside, who was now suffering, because of a project that may very well have been inspired by his _father._

"She felt okay. Good, actually. She changed, became confident, strong, balanced- and then her father was called back to Mystic Falls. The last time she'd talked to him had been a phone call, and when she finally saw his face, she was bound to a chair in a torture chamber her own ancestors built." A humorless laugh escaped Stefan, and he shook his head. "Her father wanted to... fix her. He tortured her, ignored her pleas and just tried to... use pain to cure her vampirism. He wouldn't listen to her, no matter how many times she said she was good. She told him that she couldn't be fixed."

"...just as she said inside."

"Klaus, we're going about this the wrong way," the vampire mumbled, glancing towards the closed door. He caught how the other man's jaw tightened, the flash of irritation in his eyes. "He gave her no trust. Maybe we didn't tie her to a chair, but we bound her to a single room in a gigantic mansion and we're monitoring her every move. I think... for this, we have to give her trust."

"You can make sense any time now, you know. What, let her run free? Even she's terrified of the idea, and if she hurt someone, you know how badly it would hurt her. I won't allow that to happen. It's out of the question." But Stefan was shaking his head, denying such an idea.

"No. We give her free reign of the mansion- compell her to stay here, but let her wander. And you stay with her, while I visit a few times a day. Give her that trust. Even if she attacks... talk to her."

"You've lost your bloody mind," Klaus snorted, turning back towards the door. The other man was certain it would work, though. If they couldn't break the Augustine symptoms, they could help her control them, and she knew how to stop herself- so if they didn't stop her, she'd have to do it on her own. As well as he knew Caroline, he knew she would never be able to go through with killing somebody she loved.

"Think about it, Klaus. Do you think Caroline's capable of killing her best friend, or the man who's saved her life so many times?" The hybrid's hand was resting on the doorknob, but he was paused, head tilted slightly to indicate that he was listening. His shoulders tensed when Stefan said 'saved her life'- _I also put it in danger more than once_- but after a long moment, he licked his lips and twisted the knob.

"Fine. We'll try it. But if you die, that's on you."


	3. Chapter 3

When the two men reached the top of the stairs, Klaus lifted a hand, his head tilting slightly to indicate that Stefan should listen a bit more closely. Caroline was on the phone, it seemed. Both stayed rooted to the spot, indulging in mild curiosity and more than a little worry.

"I'm hungry a lot? I guess that's... the biggest change." The blonde laughed shakily, pulling her knees to her chest and letting her head fall back against the mattress. She was sitting on the floor beside the bed, rather than on the bed; once she'd drained the blood bag and tossed it in the trash in in the room, she had decided to call and check in with her mom. Liz's stifled sob of joy had been enough to tell her she was doing the right thing, and now, she was trying to update her on everything. "But I mean, I've always been, like, a black hole when it comes to food of any sort. Just a different kind of food I'm craving now." She was trying for glibness to calm her mother down, though personally, Caroline really couldn't see the situation in a good light. "It's kind of like when you want steak, but you're eating that stupid tofu stuff."

"Oh, honey. You're not in any pain?"

"What? Oh, God, no. It would only hurt if I was starving myself. No, I'm still feeding. It just doesn't hit the right spot anymore. So much for a bunny diet, huh?" At that, Liz did finally laugh, and Stefan managed to crack a smile in the hallway, shrugging when Klaus shot him a '_bunny diet?'_ sort of look.

"You should try it," Stefan offered, his voice barely audible. The hybrid snorted, shaking his head.

"Not in a million years, Rippah." Once he'd said his piece, Klaus pressed a finger to his lips, pointing towards the room- still eavesdropping. Chances were that Caroline would chew them out for spying on her if they were caught, but he highly doubted they would be.

"Hey, Mom?"

"Hm?"

"Do you... do you think Daddy would have been more.. _okay_ with me being a vampire if he saw me like this? You know... my diet change?" All humor fell from Klaus' face in that moment, and Stefan felt his jaw tightening. Maybe it was something Caroline hadn't brought up with Klaus before, but Stefan had seen firsthand just how her father's death had affected her. Or, rather, his decision- death over vampirism beside his daughter. He put a hand on the other man's shoulder, shaking his head firmly- _Don't cross that line._ One of those topics that shouldn't be approached unless she was the one doing it.

"_Caroline._" The faint voice of Liz Forbes that came through the phone's speakers sounded more comforting than anything else. "Your dad loved you. You know he did."

"He still left."

"It went against his beliefs, and you know that- okay, no. This isn't about him. This is about _you_, and you need to remember that. You have to get better, honey. We're all worried about you. We _miss_ you."

"Y-yeah. Okay." Caroline's voice was cracking when she responded, despite her attempts at putting on a brave front. "Hey, I should go. Stefan wants to talk to me."

"Okay. I love you, Care."

"Love you too, Mom." There was a distinctive _beep_ from within the room, and then- "For a vampire and hybrid that are _way_ older than me, you _suck _at sneaking up on me." Klaus was the first to appear in the doorway, wearing a lopsided smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes- he was burning with curiosity about what had happened with her father, of course. Considering the relationship he'd had with his, he half-feared that Caroline's might be somewhat similar.

"Oh, come now, give us some credit," he chuckled. "We were doing well until Stefan decided to open his mouth, isn't that right?" A pause. "Why, exactly, are you on the floor, love?" To her credit, she managed to resist rolling her eyes at him when she pulled herself to her feet- not that she moved any closer, not even when she saw that Stefan was behind Klaus. In fact, that had her stepping back a bit, almost subconsciously.

"More comfortable. And, yeah. I heard the bunny diet comments." She jabbed a finger towards Klaus, almost as though to scold him. "And _you_, don't knock it til you try it." Glancing between the two, it suddenly occurred to Caroline that they'd probably been discussing her outside. Her hands went to her hips, and she fixed them with her best _in charge_ look and asked, "Okay, what's the new gameplan? Because obviously, I'm failing thus far. Not that I'm really _surprised_, this whole thing is supposed to make me into a ravenous monster who wants to munch on my own kind..." She frowned. "Speaking of which, have you talked to Aaron, Stefan?"

"Aaron?" Both men said it at the same time, with equal amounts of confusion- which only led to Caroline looking confused.

"Uh, Damon didn't tell you? When he first found me, I asked where Aaron was, because the last thing I remember is talking to him in his dorm."

"You were..." Stefan arched a brow. "You were in his dorm."

"Right, okay, who is Aaron, and why were you in his room?" This earned Klaus identical looks from Stefan and Caroline, and Caroline scoffed. Jealousy. In a situation like this, his mind leaped to- _wow_.

"I was going to try to help him cope with the overwhelming amounts of vamp knowledge he suddenly had, was all. But I don't remember much about it. Damon seriously didn't tell you guys?" The way they were exchanging looks, Caroline had to guess that Damon had, yet again, proven that he was an ass. Or maybe just stupid. Or both. Yeah, she'd vote on both.

"Your brother rises ever higher on my people-to-kill list, Stefan," Klaus finally said, his voice completely deadpan.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell you guys what, you two discuss the new plan and I'll go figure out the deal with Aaron." Stefan inclined his head to the both of them and stepped away without another word; as she listened to his steps fading down the stairs, she sighed, nearly flopping down to sit on the bed. Klaus remained in the doorway, arms crossed, watching her in silence.

"You nearly cried, when you were speaking to your mother. Saying goodbye." When he finally spoke, his voice was much quieter than she expected it to be, and it caught her off-guard. So, of course, she nodded without thinking about the repercussions. Mainly, Klaus prying into just why she'd been so close to tears- but how could she explain that to him? _You need to get better._ It made her feel diseased, and maybe she was. Maybe this Augustine thing was an illness, or a cancer. Maybe it would kill her, in the end. Maybe it would chip away at her sanity and make her turn on the people she loved. Wasn't that the sort of thing her father had expected of everyday vampirism? Why should this be any easier? Any _safer?_ Besides, to him, she was supposed to be strong. She wasn't sure why, but it bothered her, that he was seeing her at less than that. "Caroline."

"Am I supposed to be happy about all of this?" she asked bitingly, instantly wishing she hadn't said it so harshly. He was only trying to help her, had come all the way from New Orleans to help. "I'm sorry. I just... It feels like I had only barely scratched the surface of vampirism, but I was finally okay, I could trust myself to handle anything that came my way. Anything but this. My control, my strength, it's all..."

"It's not gone, love." She had been staring resolutely at the floor, but his voice was much closer than she expected, and when she lifted her gaze, he was kneeling in front of her. "It's still-"

"You've lost your mind!" Caroline scrambled back, not stopping until her back hit the headboard of the bed. Much to her frustration, he seemed disappointed that she'd moved away. "Seriously?! I could kill you! _Ugh!"_ The frustrated noise was punctuated by a pillow she lobbed at his head- and of course she missed, he caught it easily and tossed it back beside her.

"Not without a white oak stake, and you seem to be lacking one." Was he seriously smirking at her?!

"This isn't funny! I could _hurt_ you still! I don't want you that close to me!" Something strange flashed in his gaze when he realized the implications of her words- that she cared, and couldn't stand to cause him pain. It was a small victory, but it was a victory, nonetheless. He rose to settle onto the edge of her bed, watching her with an intensity that nearly made her uncomfortable. "My dad, he treated my vampirism like an illness. Like he could cure it. And then my mom said I needed to 'get better', like I'm... sick, and..." Maybe if she kept talking, she could ensure that he wouldn't try to move closer to her. _As if._ But, he'd seemed curious, so it might be an ample distraction.

Klaus, in general, was overwhelming at the moment. Everything about him was a temptation, and the closer he was, the harder the temptations were to ignore. With a sigh, she rested her head against the headboard and closed her eyes. "I can't... be fixed. And if I don't learn how to control it-"

"You will," came the low interruption, with no room for argument, but she pressed on.

"If I don't learn how to control it, I need one of you two to kill me before I kill someone else."

"No."

"But-"

"It is _not_ an option, Caroline." She sat up, shooting him a glare and finding herself receiving just the same in return. A tense silence settled over them like a thick blanket. What did he expect her to do, suddenly be okay with not being able to hold herself back from ripping into her friends? She wouldn't be able to live with herself like that, and he should _know_ that. Maybe he could- but she wouldn't let herself think like that. There wasn't a single one among them that didn't have blood on their hands, and though he had more than any of them, it didn't mean she would condemn him for it. Not anymore. Caroline had seen more than once evidence that there was much more to him than even he saw, and she felt like she was the _only_ one who saw it; if she condemned him, that part may fade away forever. So, no. Not even in her own mind. She wouldn't do that, not for a second.

He was, surprisingly, the one to speak first, his voice much softer than before. "I'm certain your father loved you, sweetheart." She snorted.

"You didn't- you don't know that. You didn't even know him. Maybe he did, but he didn't love what I became. He hated vampires. That changed how he looked at me, even if he didn't realize it."

"Maybe I didn't know him," Klaus conceded. "But... I do know you. And I know that anyone who truly knows you can do nothing less than love you." When she met his gaze, he smiled- after a moment, it faded slightly, and he asked, "What happened?"

"Nothing." She said it too quickly. He knew it was a lie, and an obvious one. Still, he merely shrugged, unwilling to press further. His eyes had left hers and were traveling the room in what she might have assumed was curiosity if he didn't own this whole damn mansion. Instead, she placed it as thoughtfulness.

"Have I told you much about Mikael?"

"Your father?"

"Mhm." When she shook her head, he sighed and flopped back to lay stretched across the end of the bed, lacing his fingers behind his head. Strangely, despite knowing she needed to keep distance between them for his safety (and later, thinking back, she'd wonder why she thought she could hurt an Original, even as an Augustine) she found herself tucking her legs under her and shifting closer, curious. "Even before he knew I was a bastard, I think he _knew_. I could do no right in his eyes. A game of swordplay with Elijah would turn to a fight for my life when Mikael chose to take my elder brother's place opposite me. He tore into me verbally, threatened me, beat me... I suppose a part of me thought it must have been something I'd done. Every day, I thanked the gods for another day of life. Funny, as I have not thought of them since I was just a lad..."

Caroline couldn't understand why he was choosing to tell her about this. Maybe he wanted to make her feel more comfortable opening up to him, or maybe he just needed to open up to somebody- the words were weighted in such a way that they felt as though they'd needed to be said for many, many years. Had he ever told anyone else? "I was still family, in his eyes, up until he led us in massacring our village. Yes-" he added, as though he could feel her shock, "-we made our first kills by the orders of our father. For me, it was only one before I was engulfed in pain that I was certain must have been punishment for the sin I'd committed."

"Your werewolf gene," she whispered, understanding instantly. He nodded, though still stared at the ceiling, not looking at her.

"He knew, then. Tied me to a cross with Elijah's aid. Beat me within an inch of my life- quite the feat, considering what we had just become. And I remember that I was thinking two things- the first, that I had probably just killed kin. I had never loathed myself so thoroughly. I had not asked for what I had become, and yet, I hated myself."

"Klaus..."

"The second thing, of course, being that those who were meant to be my kin must truly hate me. I begged Elijah for help. I received none." A wry, humorless smile curled his lips, though Caroline could barely discern it through the tears in her eyes. _Why didn't he tell me this before? Oh my God._ "I was right and wrong, of course. I had, indeed, killed my own kin, and the rest of the wolves were slaughtered that very day. But I was also wrong- Elijah did not hate me. He feared Mikael. _Mikael_ hated me. He hated me so thoroughly that he dedicated the rest of his existence to killing me." She reached to touch his arm, but before she could, he was sitting up, snagging her outstretched hand in his own with that same humorless smile still in place. "I did not tell you to pity me, I told you so that you could see- you would know, truly know, if your father hated you."

"Why didn't you tell me this before? I'm so-" His free hand lifted, pressing a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.

"It was ages ago, love. And I have never wanted your pity. I am the most _powerful_ being on the face of the planet, _why_ would I speak of such weaknesses openly, hm? Don't be sorry. It's simply the past." She rolled her eyes, almost laughing through the trapped tears. Of course he would try to brush something like this aside, pretend it was nothing. A single beat passed before she was across the short distance between them, her arms tight around his neck as she hugged him. Surprised, he stiffened at first before a cautious hand found her back, returning the embrace lightly but uncertainly. "Ah, sweetheart?"

"Stop being an egotistical _prat_ for a minute and let someone care, _God_, Klaus," she managed, laughing shakily and refusing to let go just yet.

"No, no, it isn't... wait, did you just- did you call me a prat?" He wormed his way from her grasp, looking affronted. "Milady, you _wound_ me, and after I've bared my soul to you!"

"Oh, my God." She laughed, smacking his arm and blinking the last of the tears away. At least she hadn't _actually_ cried. "I learned it from your sister, you know." This time, _he_ was rolling his eyes.

"Why does that not surprise me? Ah, but, what I was _trying_ to say before your words mortally wounded me..." Caroline snagged the same pillow from before, lifting it threateningly, and it earned her a grin that she couldn't help but think of as boyish. "Do you realize what you just did?"

"Uh... threaten you with a pillow?"

"No, no, before that." When she only stared at him in confusion, he indicated the almost non-existent space between them. "You not only sat near me, but hugged me- all without attempting to tear my throat out for my blood." For a long moment, they stared at each other, Klaus looking accomplished and wearing a sort of _I told you so_ smirk, and Caroline fighting to process the information. "You controlled yourself without even thinking about it, even in a near-starved state."

"I..." Her eyes were wide.

_I really did._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Holy crow, over a hundred follows! Thank you guys so, so, so much! I've had this done for a while now, but I wanted to wait to release this chapter on a special day- kind of as a present to everyone who's following! Your reviews absolutely make my day, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Happy New Year, everyone!**

* * *

As it turned out, Klaus had been expecting a natural control over her hunger. What she had expected was madness, an inability to control a whole new temptation- but that wasn't what it was. As he pointed out, if it affected her to the point where unexposed blood itself was a temptation- one worse than what she already dealt with as a vampire- then she was a danger to herself. Those subjected to the same sort of changes she had been would be dangers to themselves and merely commit self-harm to earn the blood. Clearly, she hadn't gone down that route, and it had made him wonder if her hunger might be slightly mental.

(She'd scowled at him- was he insinuating that she was insane?)

And, in all honesty, she could see his point. Now that she knew she had the ability to control herself, she found it was _far_ easier than she'd expected. Jesse hadn't been able to control himself because he was still a baby, and okay, she was _too_ compared to her friends- but that didn't mean she was a baby when it came to control. This was kind of like turning up the difficulty level on her control- kind of like the difference between English and AP English. (Both of which, by the way, she absolutely excelled at.) Yes, it was a little harder, but she knew she could do it, and that just made her a hell of a lot more determined to hang on to that control.

"Mind over matter," he said yet again, steepling his fingers idly as he paced near the end of the bed. "You're not so dangerous as you would like to think. I'm not so certain control in the sense of proximity to vampires is something we need to worry about- I think it's the actual blood consumption."

"But... it _is_ still there." She sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, watching him curiously. "Like, now that you've mentioned it... I kind of..." _Can't stop staring at your main arteries and different sweet spots that would be easy to take blood from?_ Her lips formed a hard line as she ducked her head, staring instead at the bedspread. To her vast surprise, he laughed.

"Because you have not touched anything but human blood since you were turned into an Augustine. Vampire blood is always going to be a temptation for you, but think of it as... human blood is your animal blood. Like Rippah, munching on woodland animals and having his whole blood-balance problem whenever he gets a real bite to eat."

"Are you saying I'll start tearing vampires apart and go on a vamp killing spree if I try vampire blood?" It was, to say the least, a terrifying thought. Standing on the edge between controlled and killer- wasn't that what it was like for Stefan, all the time? Right now, the knowledge that she could resist, that she already had, even without thinking about it, it was enough to help her keep herself in check. She twisted a piece of her hair around her finger, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as she considered his words. God, why couldn't there be a vampire blood bag? That would make her life so much easier at this point. How was she going to learn to control that aspect if- suddenly, she realized where he was probably going with this, and her eyes snapped back to him quickly, wide. "Oh, no. Uh-uh. No, no, no. If you're thinking what I think you are, you've lost it, completely."

Klaus couldn't pull off the innocent face. He was trying to, just then, but he really couldn't. His steps had paused as she began working through things in her mind, and now he stepped around to sit by her on the bed, causing her to tense up completely.

"How did you learn to control your bloodlust with humans?"

"Bloodbags," she quipped instantly, lifting her chin. He laughed.

"Oh, so you never found yourself faced with feeding from the vein? Caroline-"

"No! We're not trying it, no way." With a sigh, he lifted a shoulder in a semblance of a shrug. Before she could wonder at him dropping the argument so easily, she found her gaze trapped by his, and she only had a moment to realize what was happening before he spoke.

"You are free to wander as you choose, leave this room, but you will not leave this mansion until I say so." As he released the compulsion, a slow smirk twisted his lips, and he said, "There. Now, when Stefan returns-"

"You're an asshole," the blonde hissed. She was glaring at him, all too aware what he was planning. If she had full free reign of the house and Stefan purposefully caused himself to bleed, how long would she be able to avoid what her body was desperately trying to tell her she needed? He might have a point, in all honesty- she was a very controlled vampire, and had been from the beginning. Despite having killed someone when that control had slipped, she'd fed from her nurse in the hospital without killing her, and that had been the first time she'd fed from the vein. Maybe it was her control-freak tendencies somehow slipping through into her eating habits, but that didn't _always_ work.

"No, love, I am simply doing what needs to be done." The amusement faded from his features, a low growl entering his tone. "Do you truly think I will allow you to lose yourself to this? No. You deserve more, _better_ than this."

"That doesn't mean we need to put the people I care about in danger! You and Stefan could both be seriously hurt!"

"I will sacrifice anything to help you!" he snapped, rising and beginning to pace once more. "I do not _care_ how it might hurt others_._ I'm doing this for you, not them!"

"_Seriously, Klaus?!_" Slipping off the bed, she grabbed his arm, beginning to drag him towards the door. She should have known she wouldn't get far with that, and it was with almost no effort that he pulled away, looking confused. Her hands planted on her hips as he turned to glare at him. "Out! Out, out, _get out!_"

"Caroline." His voice was a clear warning- his patience was growing ever-thinner. "This is _my_ home."

"I don't care! You don't get it! And if I can't leave, you will!" She refused to flinch under his darkening features, having already been in screaming matches with him in the past and not worried in the least about the outcome. "You- you don't even try to understand, do you? If I hurt someone I love, I will _not_ be able to live with myself!"

His reaction was not at all what she expected. Klaus jerked his sleeve back as his face shifted, hybrid fangs flashing for a moment before they'd sank into his own wrist. The scent hit her like a punch in the gut, leaving her wide-eyed and stumbling back. Slowly, Klaus extended his arm, watching her closely as Caroline found her gaze drawn to the blood seeping from the bite- _No, no, no!_ But he was too close, she was too hungry; she couldn't stop her own fangs from slipping free as the veins under her eyes blackened and rose. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her backwards steps not stopping until she hit the wall.

"You cannot hurt me," he said, slowly stepping towards her with his arm still held forward like a twisted peace offering or something. "You need to feed."

"No," she whispered from behind her hand, shaking her head despite the way her eyes were fixed to the blood. With what felt like a colossal effort, the blonde forced her eyes closed, shuddering. Her stomach was rolling, the hollowness from her hunger near-painful, and she had to stop breathing entirely to get any sort of reprieve from it. It didn't occur to her to get away, to flash past him into another part of the house- her mind was a mess, she was _starving_, and all she could think was, _It smells so good._

"Caroline." He was suddenly much, much closer, and his fingers encircled her wrist lightly, tugging her hand away from her mouth. "A drink, love. You _need_ this." There was a short pause- she refused to open her eyes, stubbornly staying ignorant of whatever it was he was doing- and then, a feather-light brush across her lips. Not a kiss, but a touch, simple and... wet. Without thinking, she inhaled sharply from surprise, and her eyes flashed open, wide and stunned. _He'd put his blood on her lips._ Barely a few inches away from her, those golden hybrid eyes of his watching her closely, he didn't seem to have an ounce of remorse for the severity of the temptation he'd just forced on her. Not that it mattered. The moment she'd realized what he'd done, her tongue had slid out automatically to clean it away.

He had the span of a heartbeat to judge her reaction before she moved with a speed that caught him completely off-guard, strength that he hadn't expected becoming all too obvious when she grabbed his shirt and switched positions with him in a flash. Despite knowing that Augustine vampires were supposedly stronger and faster, Klaus would have never guessed just how much of a difference there truly was. He was already pressed into the wall before he fully realized what was happening, his blonde angel fast becoming a demon and striking without hesitation. Still, when she sank her fangs into the slope of his neck, it didn't hurt- far from it. He'd shared his blood with her before, of course, but in blood sharing, there were different _spots_- the wrist could generally be a slight thrill, but it was easily ignored, to him. Pleasant, but he could block that out. The neck was a completely different story.

There was a reason blood-sharing was seen as exceedingly intimate.

He couldn't stop the soft groan that escaped him, nor could he resist slipping an arm around her waist to pull her flush against him. It was hard, to remember that they were supposed to merely be _friends_ and that he needed to respect that, harder still to suppress a shiver of pleasure as one of her hands slid to the unharmed side of his neck, her fangs digging deeper into his flesh as she drank. She was a temptation without even trying every single time he saw her, but this was completely different. "Sweetheart," he breathed, his free hand winding into her hair and cradling her head. "Careful..." Did his voice really sound so strained? He fought to remind himself that she needed to learn control. He had to help her. "Listen to me, Caroline. Listen to my voice. _Remember_ that you are feeding from a _per__son_..."

Klaus was caught between heaven and hell. Trapped in a moment of ecstasy, craving her like he never had before. Knowing that Caroline would torture and torment herself and lose confidence if she didn't stop on her own. His lust for her and his love for her warred for dominance in his head. And who was he, to remind her of her humanity? With a low growl, he tightened his grasp on her waist. "Caroline. You need to stop yourself. I will _not_ stop you." And whether or not she would listen to him, he'd never know, because in that moment he felt her suddenly being dragged from his grasp. He'd been so lost in the sensations and his own internal conflict that he hadn't noticed Stefan had returned, and the Salvatore was now turning her, holding her by the shoulders and speaking in a low, fervent tone.

"Caroline, look at me. _Look at me_. That's Klaus. He's helping you." Stefan shook her as she tried to turn back towards Klaus, but her attempt was clearly half-hearted, or he wouldn't have been able to keep her still. "Caroline!" One hand lifted to grab her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze as she released a soft noise of protestation. "You're better than this. You can control this. You are _Caroline Forbes_, and you are the most controlled vampire I know. Breathe."

Slowly, she managed to fully focus on him, reminded of the first time he'd helped her after a loss of control. She began to use his breathing as an anchor, forcing her own to match it as her vampiric features began to fade. The only signs left of what had happened on her were the traces of blood on her lips, which she finally licked away, swallowing hard. Stefan reached to cup her cheek, a small smile on his face. "There we go. You okay?"

"Y-yeah," she said, nodding. "Yeah, I think I'm... Klaus, I-" She turned, fully intending to apologize, but he had left when Stefan had grabbed her.

Stefan found him outside once he'd gotten Caroline settled once more, pacing and looking more than a little agitated. He arched a brow at the hybrid.

"You alright?"

"No!" Klaus snapped, whirling on the vampire and flashing in front of him in an instant. "And you know why! Say a single word, Stefan, and I'll tear your bloody tongue out and feed it to you!" Stefan couldn't help but smirk, chuckling and running a hand over his mouth.

"Never thought I'd see you going through a bad case of blue balls..."

Klaus promptly snapped his neck.


End file.
